An admission/apology re BR

[strap]

Already had the team and the philosophy at Swansea that he has. Wait until he has to build a team again before calling him the messiah.

As far as I can see from his record, he has only "built" one team, and that was the RFC one he left in the relegation mire. (The quotation about Tommy Burns springs readily to mind). The team at Swansea is essentially Martinez/Sousa's. The addition of Scott Sinclair for £500k and Routledge aside. Which begs the question, how come he wasn't able to get Sinclair for RFC for that price?

This season alone we have been regaled by his quotes in the national press about the time he spent at Chelsea, Arsenal (seriously? I musy have blinked when he was there), Manchester United (pretty much ditto?), not to mention him turning down Machester City earlier in the season. This man's ego is quite possibly the biggest in English football at present, and is clearly at least one thing he learnt from his good friend Mourinho.

Next we'll be hearing how he believes he's in the frame to be the next England manager. If his musings in the press are in anyway accurate, he has spent quality time at all the top teams in England, and it is only a matter of time before he takes over from Sir Alex Ferguson as the most decorated manager English football.

An arrogant little shit who couldn't build a team if his life depended on it. He needs to look around and appreciate his true standing in the game. P122 W52 D26 L44 against BMcD's P104 W45 D33 L25. I know which I'd rather have.

[sandman]

Nail hit firmly on head.

[swansea jack]

Already had the team and the philosophy at Swansea that he has. Wait until he has to build a team again before calling him the messiah.

As far as I can see from his record, he has only "built" one team, and that was the RFC one he left in the relegation mire. (The quotation about Tommy Burns springs readily to mind). The team at Swansea is essentially Martinez/Sousa's. The addition of Scott Sinclair for £500k and Routledge aside. Which begs the question, how come he wasn't able to get Sinclair for RFC for that price?

This season alone we have been regaled by his quotes in the national press about the time he spent at Chelsea, Arsenal (seriously? I musy have blinked when he was there), Manchester United (pretty much ditto?), not to mention him turning down Machester City earlier in the season. This man's ego is quite possibly the biggest in English football at present, and is clearly at least one thing he learnt from his good friend Mourinho.

Next we'll be hearing how he believes he's in the frame to be the next England manager. If his musings in the press are in anyway accurate, he has spent quality time at all the top teams in England, and it is only a matter of time before he takes over from Sir Alex Ferguson as the most decorated manager English football.

An arrogant little shit who couldn't build a team if his life depended on it. He needs to look around and appreciate his true standing in the game. P122 W52 D26 L44 against BMcD's P104 W45 D33 L25. I know which I'd rather have.

lol

Only the addition of 2 players?! Think you need to read up a bit more fella. We've picked up an absolute gem in our keeper, a great defender in Caulker (loan) and Graham's runs are finally being picked up by the rest of the team. All new signings inc. Britton who he brought back after Sousa had a strop and forced him out. He's playing Allen in a role more suited to him and got both Dyer and Sinclair working their socks off.

Marinez implemented the style, Sousa took us back a step and BIG WATCH has reversed this and more. It's time that he gets credit for this. I'm glad you're happy with McD but I'm eve happier with BW.

If Martinez was so good then why are Wigwam languishing when they have a much bigger budget than us and he's has time to implement his style?

[sandman]

Why did Villa want Martinez then? He might have a bigger budget but you try attracting players to Wigan.

Rodgers is a good coach but I'm yet to be convinced he's a manager and when things start going against you (which they haven't really done whilst he's been there) that is when we'll really see if he can cut the mustard or if he's the same fast talking, fantasist, chancer that he was at Reading. The PL won't be all plain sailing for you.Trust us, we know.

Just wait until Lita's first arrested in a Bristol bar fight.

[rhroyal]

Would Rodgers be the success he is now if we hadn't sacked him? He's proving himself very good, young, bright manager. Doesn't change the fact that he made a lot of mistakes for us and had us looking like relegation fodder. If he hadn't learned from his mistakes with us, he'd wouldn't be the manager he is now.

[Avon Royal]

BR was the right man, at the wrong time.

End of.

[sandman]

BR was the right man, at the wrong time.

End of.

Would agree with that. He needed more experience as a manager before he took a job as big as being the Reading manager.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Lets not forget that if he'd stayed, he'd have had to make the same sales McD has.

Whether his sacking was wrong or harsh is a different question, but if you judge him purely by what he achieved here, he did a poor job. The fact that he came across as unjustifiably arrogant really didn't help his case either.

[royalsroyalsroyals92]

I always liked him and was gutted when he was sacked. I thought he was turning the elusive corner that we always hear about and it was a shame he was gone. I was angry when we gave McD the job but was soon made to eat my words.

I think BR had it right about a "3 year plan" to some extent however i think it would have more likely been 4. Maybe by the end of next season we would of made it to the prem, and thats when i think McD may get us up anyway.

Even though it was a shame BR was chucked, i think we have been lucky in getting Brian, however i think the latter needs to maybe realise he may need to freshen things up and change things around so he doesn't end up in a similar situation as the former

[swansea jack]

Why did Villa want Martinez then? He might have a bigger budget but you try attracting players to Wigan.

Rodgers is a good coach but I'm yet to be convinced he's a manager and when things start going against you (which they haven't really done whilst he's been there) that is when we'll really see if he can cut the mustard or if he's the same fast talking, fantasist, chancer that he was at Reading. The PL won't be all plain sailing for you.Trust us, we know.

Just wait until Lita's first arrested in a Bristol bar fight.

Villa - as in the club nobody wanted to go to so they ended up with the Blues manager?!

Wigan - the club with a budget we can only dream of who can probably pay wages in far in excess of us. As an established Prem club (for now) they are more appealing than we are at the moment.

Swansea - the club with a handful of signings over GBP1m of which BW has had a say in (or changed the position of) half the team. You guys need to get over it and give him some credit. He's RFC through and through and over-tried if anything. It's not as though he didn't give a oxf*rd unlike Burns, McGee, Parjudas etc... We're in a better position with him, you seem happy with McD so man the oxf*rd up and stop the whining.

Don't want it to be plain sailing as that's just dull.

&Lita - yeh, if it happens it happens.

[Svlad Cjelli]

BR was the right man, at the wrong time.

End of.

Would agree with that. He needed more experience as a manager before he took a job as big as being the Reading manager.

Although I'm not sure that there'd ever be a right time for him here, having thought more about it. He needs to be very much the "ultimate man in charge, doing things exactly his way" - Reading is very much "part of a team, we all work together" ethos. So in a lot of ways there was a cultural mis-match, and he wasn't going to change and RFC wasn't going to change.

[Terminal Boardom]

Assuming Swansea stay up, I will be interested to see how they fare in their second season. Then we might see if BR is The Emperor's New Clothes or not.

[loyalroyal4life]

he's in the past, although still think right manager just at the wrong time!

Can't fault a manager who actually wants to try and play the game in an entertaining manner!

[Alan Partridge]

Swansea was a perfect fit for the guy in all honesty. There was no massive rebuild, they already played his way, they had the best defense in the league for the past 2 years they just had to find a goalscorer. Which he did in Sinclair.

it was a massive job at Reading at the time, to be honest it needed McDermott's current approach of just keeping the team ticking along for a couple of years while players were being sold all over the place, it wasn't possible for Rodgers to do what he wanted to do. To be honest having watched Wigan yesterday they reminded me of Reading under Rodgers (I reckon Martinez is struggling there like Rodgers did here). Trying to play lots of pretty football with players totally uncomfortable of doing that. Coupled with forwards missing a stack of really easy chances. You have to work with what you've got and you have to get the best out of whats available and for me Rodgers tried to change far too much too soon. He tried to make a rolls royce out of parts from a ford KA.

McDermott got things back to basics,signed Griffin a steady right back instead of Rodgers playing Tabb there, he got the ball wide to the main threats and got the best out of Long. Long is a bit of a bruiser forward, not very graceful but effective. The pass pass pass system didn't suit him and the rest of the forwards as we've seen since are extremly average. I remember seeing the opening game a 0-0 with Forest where neither side forced a decent save and the headline on the OS was 'Reading complete 580odd passes' Who cares? I am all for passing football, and I enjoy watching Swansea play because unlike ROdgers Reading side, Rodgers Swansea side has end product. Has frightening pace out wide and decent strikers. Here he had the pace out wide but had Rasiak and Church

I could never warm to the bloke, was a walking soundbite but to be honest he had a thankless task of following Coppell, but like he said he couldn't turn it down so I don't really hold any animosity towards him. WOuld I want him back at Reading? I'm not sure maybe one day when the club is financially a bit stronger and he could actually do what he wants to do. Should he have been given more time? No for me and the reasoning is, he wouldn't have been given the tools to make Reading a really decent side. They were going absolutely nowhere at the time and it needed someone to get it back to basics. Back to getting the players comfortable with what they were doing. I am yet to see Rodgers have a plan b (mainly because he's not needed one at Swansea) but I don't think his philosophy would have changed and I'm not sure Reading would have made the improvement they did when Mcdermott got the gig if Rodgers had stayed on.

[melonhead]

Even though it was a shame BR was chucked, i think we have been lucky in getting Brian, however i think the latter needs to maybe realise he may need to freshen things up and change things around so he doesn't end up in a similar situation as the former

never shown coppells weakness of being afraid to drop anyone, or shake things up when required.
just cos he's less knee jerk than th emajority of our fans, doesnt mean he wont do it when its actually required

[Fox Talbot]

AP post above is spot on.

Interesting (mildly) to ponder whether we would be better off if McD took the impossible job straight after Coppell and Rodgers came in after the inevitable (in my opinion) balls-up.

[Royal Rother]

It takes longer than 6 months to successfully / totally change a team's playing style.

McGhee was given that time and it worked brilliantly. Rodgers wasn't.

[melonhead]

he took the rebuilding too far too fast and left us seriously in danger of relegation though
some of his decisions were clearly mental, and he had started to lose the dressing room because of that.

[Ian Royal]

Agree totally with AP.

RR: Obviously you need longer than 6 months to completely rebuild a team. That's because you need to do it progressively bit by bit. Notall at once immediately. Rodgers got it wrong and paid the price, because there was a very real and good chance he'd have been beginning a new rebuilding job in League One the next season, if he'd been given more time.

The FA Cup was the catalyst for our turn in form, and that was because McDermott had had time to get things back to basics as AP said and make some changes. If Rodgers had stayed 'til mid January, or later, the chances are we'd not have significantly improved and we'd have missed the chance for that refocusing and catalyst to find the belief we could do better. We may have stayed up, but we'd have done it by a small margin, and we'd already seen in the previous three seasons we tended to fold under late season pressure.

[Negative_Jeff]

This right man at the wrong time stuff is a cop out. The club would surely have known at the start that Rodgers wanted to implement a different style of football. I feel almost as cheated by losing Rodgers as I did about Gylfi. Watching this present bunch of scufflers depresses me. A few pints before the match compensates though.